The Sampadak Express News Desk
Biju Janata Dal president and former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday questioned the State government’s response to Andhra Pradesh issuing a notification for panchayat elections in three villages of the disputed Kotia gram panchayat in Koraput district, asking whether the BJP’s reliance on its National Democratic Alliance partner, the Telugu Desam Party, was behind its “silence,” according to The Hindu.
Patnaik, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Odisha Assembly, wrote to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressing concern over Andhra Pradesh announcing polls in Phagunasineri, Ganjeipadar and Phatusineri—villages claimed by both States. “What happened to the BJP’s assurances that Kotia belongs to Odisha? What makes this even more troubling is that the Telugu Desam Party, which governs Andhra Pradesh, is a crucial ally of the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre,” he said in the letter.
He pressed the government to explain whether “political dependence is the reason for the silence of the BJP government in Odisha and its willingness to compromise with the state’s interests and territorial integrity?” Patnaik also sought details of the work of a 16-member high-level Kotia Committee set up in 2025, asking what recommendations it had made and what actions had followed. He noted that BJP leaders in the State had long asserted Kotia “belongs to Odisha,” raising the “Go Back Andhra” slogan, and recalled the party’s pre-2024 promise that a “double-engine” government would settle the dispute and restore Odia pride. “Despite Odisha having a so-called double-engine government, it is deeply concerning that Andhra Pradesh has proceeded to announce elections in Kotia,” he wrote, adding that people “deserve clear answers and accountability.”
Responding to the opposition’s criticism, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said on Sunday that the government was fully prepared to “thwart any provocative attempts by the neighbouring state.” He said Kotia gram panchayat “is an integral part of Odisha and its people are with the state.” The government has directed the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (Southern Division) to assess the situation and remain vigilant, and the Koraput district collector is also taking stock, Pujari said. Both officers have been asked to ensure the Kotia area does not become part of Andhra Pradesh’s election process, he added.
Congress Legislature Party leader Rama Chandra Kadam, an MLA from Koraput district, demanded immediate intervention by the State, alleging that “the Odisha BJP government’s double standards on Kotia have allowed Andhra Pradesh to make its claim over the region.”
The Kotia dispute dates back decades, with both Odisha and Andhra Pradesh asserting jurisdiction over 21 of the 28 villages in Kotia gram panchayat. The matter first reached the Supreme Court in 1968, which ordered both States to maintain the status quo. In 2006, the apex court held that inter-State boundary disputes are best resolved by Parliament under Article 131 of the Constitution. A fresh original suit filed by Odisha in January 2022 remains under the Supreme Court’s consideration.
Patnaik’s letter follows Andhra Pradesh’s notification for local polls in the three villages, which Odisha contests. While the date of the proposed elections was not stated in the material cited, Odisha officials have been tasked with preventing any integration of Kotia villages into Andhra Pradesh’s electoral process as the legal dispute continues before the Supreme Court.
